The Referral Game (A Frank Randall Mystery)

by Steven Ehrman

  “I understand she was a cold domineering mother to Edgar.”

  “Who told you that?” she asked surprised.

  “Edgar.”

  She thought that over for a minute. “That may be the way he remembers it, but believe me, she loved and indulged him. It made her happy. He was her favorite.”

  “But I understood that she kept Edgar on a short leash, financially speaking.”

  “Only because Edgar had no sense around money. If it were not for their mother I’m sure that both of the boys would have been in bankruptcy years ago. Besides, it was her money, not theirs.”

  “So you decided to leave and ask for nothing?”

  “I’ll tell a tale out of school, Mr. Randall. I didn’t leave with nothing. When I announced that I was filing for divorce, Silas approached me with an offer, leave without a fuss and he would give me twenty thousand dollars. He said that if I fought I would come out with nothing and he would drag my name through the mud as well. He hinted that he had some dirt on me that would cause me a lot of embarrassment. I had reasons of my own for wanting to speed the divorce through, so I accepted the money and ran. You see, I was pregnant.”

  “What? Edgar said nothing about a child.” I said stunned.

  “Edgar never knew,” she replied. “When I discovered that I was pregnant I asked Edgar for a place of our own, I thought that the child would complete us and we would be a real family. But when I saw that he would be unable to pull away I decided to keep the baby a secret and leave. I knew that if Edgar’s mother discovered that I was going to have a child that she would insist that I either stay or give up custody. With my past, and their family money and influence, it was a foregone conclusion that I would lose a custody case. I couldn’t stay and raise the baby there, and I couldn’t strike out on my own and leave my child behind. So, when Silas came along with his dirty little offer, I took it and gladly. It fit in nicely with my own plans, plus it gave me some seed money to start over on.”

  “So, Edgar has a child.” This could really upset all of Edgar’s plans to settle things and have nothing further on his conscious.

  “No, Mr. Randall,” she said sadly.

  I would have given an arm if she would call me Frank, just once.

  “I had a miscarriage and lost the baby.”

  “I’m sorry.” It sounded terribly inadequate, but it was all I could think to say.

  She nodded her head in acceptance.

  “We don’t have to let that go any further,” I said. I couldn’t believe that came out of my mouth. Pomeroy was a paying client, and a well paying client at that. Anything I dug up, outside the deal we made on meeting Paula, was his. It was his money that I had spent finding it. I wasn’t making good decisions today. Maybe she would tell him herself.

  We sat in silence for a few minutes.

  “It’s still early,” I said, “and Edgar was very anxious to get this done. Could I call him and set it up for tonight?”

  “Of course, there’s a phone in the hall. Please get in touch with him.”

  I walked into the hall, spotted the phone, fished a dime out of my pocket, and called the number that Pomeroy had given me. He answered on the second ring.

  “Hello.”

  “Mr. Pomeroy?”

  “Yes. Is that you, Randall? Do you have something to report?

  “It’s good news. I found her.”

  “That’s outstanding, Randall. Have you set a meeting?”

  “That’s what I’m calling about. She’s willing to meet as early as tonight, if you wish.”

  “Splendid! You’ve done a fine job. There will be a bonus in this for you, my boy.”

  I hoped I would still be on such good terms with him when all the details came out.

  “Thanks,” I said. “How about my office in an hour? It will probably take awhile to tie up loose ends and get out of here.”

  “Where are you?” he asked, with a worried tone.

  “I’d rather you get all the details at once and in person.”

  “ Of course, of course, I understand.” He didn’t sound like he understood at all.

  “Would you like to speak to Paula?” I asked, trying to allay any fears that he might have. “She’s in the next room.”

  “No,” he said slowly. “Perhaps it’s best that this is all done face to face. I’ll be in your office in one hour. Then I want to hear all the details. I’m sure you have an interesting tale.”

  We rang off. I turned around to go back to the dressing room and almost bumped into Martinez standing behind me. I was getting tired of people sneaking up behind me.

  “It’s not nice to eavesdrop, Rudy.” He must have heard every word I had said.

  “I would never dream of such a thing,” he replied. But I could see the wheels turning in his head. I wondered how much he could have doped out from my end of the conversation. I was spreading Pomeroy’s name around way too much in a joint like this where everyone was a grifter out to make a quick buck. Rudy already had nicked me for two centuries and had me down as an easy mark. I couldn’t blame him; tonight that’s just what I had been.

  “I’m having a bad day, Rudy. Don’t push me. I’d hate to think what might happen if I found out that you were telling people my private conversations. Let’s just keep out of each other’s way. Okay?”

  He nodded and stepped aside. There were daggers in his eyes. I was reminded of the saying about if looks could kill.

  Paula was seated when I came back. She looked up with expectant eyes.

  “It’s set,” I said. “He’ll meet us in my office in an hour.

  “I wonder if he’s changed much?”

  “I wouldn’t know, I only met him today.”

  “Will you tell me one thing?”

  “If I can.”

  “No, it’s silly.”

  “Come on, what is it?”

  “Well…does he still have that god awful toupee?” she asked and giggled.

  “He does,” I said. It was good to hear her laugh.

  “I guess some things never change. I never had the heart to tell him how it looked. He was sensitive about his bald spot and he was convinced that he looked great with his add-on. He would have killed to have your hair.”

  I tousled my hair self-consciously and shifted from one foot to the other. She was staring at me, studying me intently. I was growing uncomfortable.

  “Mr. Randall, you have a welt on your neck. Are you alright?”

  My hand stole to the token Frankie had left me.

  “I’m fine.”

  “What happened?”

  “Just some Boy Scouts tried to help me across the street and I didn’t want to go. It got a little rough, but it’s no big deal.”

  “Can I get you some ice?”

  “No, really, I’m fine,” I said. “Look, we’ve got a little time before we have to leave. I’ll wait out front while you get yourself ready.”

  “Okay, I do have some things to straighten out before we leave.”

  “Fine, I’ll be waiting at the bar.”

  “You could stay here, if you like,” she said.

  Was there anything behind that offer? I couldn’t tell, so I swallowed once and said: “No, I better not. I’ll have another drink and wait for you there.”

  “All right,” she said. “I understand.”

  Maybe she did.

  Chapter 6

  The Ride

  I found my way to the bar and ordered a double. The case was nearly over and I needed a bracer. My waitress looked disappointed when I went to the bar, instead of my old table. She decided to give me the cold shoulder and didn’t look in my direction again. I felt like downing my drink and getting another, but my head was getting a little foggy again, so I nursed the one I had, chewed some ice and waited for Paula.

  About half an hour later I still had the same drink. The bartender was asking if I wanted anything else every couple of minutes and looking disgusted every time I said no, when Paula came ou
t.

  “Ready?” I asked, as she sat next to me. Her perfume was an exotic fragrance. Even here, ten feet below street level in the winter, it made me think of white sand beaches, palm trees and those drinks with the little umbrellas.

  “Ready when you are, Mr. Randall,” she cooed. I’d sell out my brother if she would only call me Frank. I’d have to get a brother first, but that was just a detail.

  “Stay here, and I’ll get us a cab.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “No, it’s getting cold. I’ll be back when I’ve got a hack waiting.” I needed to clear my head anyway.

  I left her, and walked outside and up the steps to the street. The wind had come up and I pulled my collar close to my ears. The rain from earlier was now a frozen glaze on the pavement. The streetlights danced off of the ice. It twinkled like diamonds. It was pretty to look at, but it was dangerous to walk on. I’d have to watch my step.

  A cab was crawling down the avenue and I raised my hand to hail it. He pulled over and slid to a stop. Through the one inch opening that the cabbie rolled his window down I said to wait, and I’d be back with a lady.

  “Okay, buddy, but the meter starts now, and I need a deposit to wait.”

  Everybody was getting into my pockets tonight. I dug out a twenty and stuffed it through the gap in the window and turned to go back in and get Paula.

  To my left, in a small parking lot, a young couple were arguing. He called her a liar and smacked her in the chops. Before I knew what I was doing I sang out: “Hey, take it easy over there.”

  The man turned towards me with an ugly expression, but before he could say anything the girl jumped in. “Mind your own business, why don’t cha?”

  “I just thought you needed some help,” I said.

  Then she used that same two-word phrase the cabbie had used earlier. I was getting sick of it.

  “You heard her,” the man said with a laugh.

  I had a reply, but I bit it off, and went back in the club. I decided to throw away all my Good Samaritan medals when I got home.

  Paula wasn’t at the bar when I got back. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I didn’t want to lose her after everything else I had done tonight. I never should have let her out of my sight. I was in a near panic when the bartender walked over and said Paula was in the ladies room. She had told him she would be right back and I was to wait. I was so relieved that I celebrated with another drink. I sat with my back to the bar and kept my eyes glued on the ladies room, and waited for Paula to emerge. I wasn’t going to let my guard down again.

  To my surprise the next person to come through the door I was watching was Susie. To my greater surprise she spotted me and came directly over. And I had thought that I was through with her. She sat down next to me without an invitation.

  “I want to talk to you, Randall,” she announced.

  “It seems unavoidable,” I admitted.

  “No jokes, Randall.”

  “All right, no jokes.”

  “I’ve been talking with Paula-”

  “And you want two hundred dollars to tell me what she said,” I interrupted.

  “I thought we had a truce.”

  “Sorry, that’s the last one I had in me. Go ahead, I’ll be a good boy.”

  She glared hard at me.

  “Just listen. Don’t say a word. Like I said, I’ve been talking to Paula and she says that you’re on the level. And you really are here to help her, so take this back.”

  She stuffed the two hundred that I had given her into my jacket pocket. I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything.

  “I thought that maybe you were scamming me back there, but Paula says that she trusts you, so keep your money. I don’t hustle my friends or people who are helping them.”

  She got up and walked away.

  I was stunned. I tried to figure an angle for Susie’s actions, a reason, but I couldn’t except for the one she had given. It seemed out of character. Then again I had only met her an hour or so ago. I ordered another drink to think about it. I was just finishing it, when Paula tapped me on the shoulder.

  “Ready,” she said.

  “Do you know what Susie just did?” I asked. “What she just said to me?”

  “Oh, you can’t believe a word that girl says. Don’t pay her any mind.”

  Paula’s attitude puzzled me.

  “You don’t understand,” I began.

  “I understand perfectly,” she said. “You’re the handsomest man here, and you’re leaving with me and not her.”

  That swept all other thoughts from my head and I beamed. I threw a twenty on the bar, gave the bartender a wink, and walked out the door with the prettiest girl in the room on my arm. I felt like the world made sense. I was feeling good again. It didn’t last.

  When we came out on the street, the young couple was gone and so was my cab and my twenty bucks. I stared at the curb where the cab should have been and counted to ten. When I got to seven, Paula couldn’t contain herself any longer and burst out laughing. I felt my face turning red, but she wasn’t laughing at me. She was laughing at the situation. Her mood was infectious and I soon found myself laughing with her. We were still laughing when the next cab came by. I hailed it and we got in. I gave the cabbie the address and we sped away still laughing. The driver figured us for a couple of drunks, but that was okay with him. Drunks were usually good tippers, the happy ones were anyway.

  The radio was on, but we were having such a good time that it was a few minutes before I realized that they were talking about the Hanson girl. There was nothing new to report, but that wasn’t stopping them from rehashing what they did know over and over. I tried to shut it out. The announcer was starting to compare the present situation to the Martin case, saying that was the kind of police work the city needed now. I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Change the station,” I told the driver.

  “This is my cab, buddy, and we listen to the station I say.”

  “If you want a dime over the meter, change it.”

  “What’s the matter, mister? Don’t you care about a little girl in trouble?”

  “Say that again and I’ll break your neck,” I said, in a voice that I didn’t recognize as my own.

  He looked at me in the mirror, mulled it over, and turned the radio off altogether.

  We rode in silence. Paula reached over and put her hand in mine. After a few minutes she leaned her head on my shoulder.

  “What brought that on?” she asked.

  “It’s nothing,” I said.

  “It sounded like something. Can’t you confide in me? I’ve told you my family secrets tonight.”

  I turned my head and looked into her eyes. I saw something there that I hadn’t seen, or hadn’t been looking for, in a long time. So I started to tell her my story. I hadn’t opened up in a long while. It felt good. She wanted to hear all of it, so I gave her the whole thing. She was a natural listener. She didn’t ask any questions. She didn’t interrupt. She just let me talk myself out. When I finished, she squeezed my hand and put her head back on my shoulder.

  “You feel things deep,” she said.

  “Just one of my faults.”

  “I like that.”

  We pulled up in front of my building and got out. I paid the fare, tossed a fiver on top of it, and turned to leave when the cab driver spoke: “Hey, buddy.”

  “Yeah?” I didn’t want another argument with this guy.

  “I heard what you told the girl.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “I was out of line, back there. I just wanted to tell you that,” he said.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “Sometimes it’s hard to see the lines.”

  Paula and I went inside, caught the elevator, and rode up in silence. She was still holding my hand. The doors opened and we walked into the hallway. The hall lights were dimmed after eight on the weekends so the hall had an eerie glow. We walked down to my office and I unl
ocked the door. We went inside and turned on the lights.

  We had only gotten to my desk when she stopped and slid one arm around my waist.

  “I’m glad you’re with me,” she said.

  “Second thoughts?” I asked.

  “No, just stirring up old ghosts. I don’t have to tell you what that’s like.”

  Her arm felt warm and natural around me. I wanted to respond in kind, but we still had some unfinished business tonight.

  We both looked out the window. It had begun to snow. I was lost in thought when a cough brought me back to reality. I turned and found Pomeroy standing in the door.

  Chapter 7

  The Meeting

  “Am I interrupting something?” he asked seemingly bemused.

  “Of course, not. We were waiting on you,” I said. “It’s just been a long night for us that’s all.”

  “Hello, Paula,” he said.

  I glanced at Paula. Her face was stone.

  Seeing that Paula needed a jump-start, I decided to open up the proceedings.

  “Well, Mr. Pomeroy,” I began, “we may as well get comfortable. Paula, would you like a seat?”

  She said nothing. She gripped my hand so tightly that I could feel her nails nearly pierce my skin. Pomeroy was just smiling at her. Maybe he couldn’t see how uneasy she had become.

  “What’s the matter, Paula? I asked.

  “That’s not Edgar Pomeroy,” she said, in a flat, controlled voice.

  “What?” I exclaimed. “What are you talking about? Of course, it is.”

  I turned to the man I knew as Edgar Pomeroy, and found myself staring at the revolver he now had in his hand.

  “We haven’t been properly introduced, Mr. Randall,” he said. “I’m Silas Pomeroy.”

  My head swam. The room started to spin and I leaned against my desk for support. Beads of perspiration formed on my forehead.

  “Are you feeling faint, Mr. Randall?” asked Silas. He smile had turned into a mocking leer. “Maybe you need a drink.”

  I steadied myself and looked him in the eyes. “I don’t understand.”